Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Friday, December 25, 2020:
- There have been 165,110 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 2,447 (or 1.5 per cent) from the previous day. There are 141,023 people recovered from the virus while 4,278 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 7,592,554 of which 75,250 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 528,354. The country has 14,597 deaths from the virus – one in the Yukon, 796 in British Columbia, 890 in Alberta, 130 in Saskatchewan, 605 in Manitoba, 4,229 in Ontario, 7,867 in Quebec, eight in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia. (Statistics are from 7 p.m. Dec. 23 – Health Canada website was not updated on Dec. 24 at 7 p.m.)
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit stands at 640 confirmed cases, of which 28 are active and 559 are recovered. The number of deaths to date is 53. There are no institutional outbreaks. The community case breakdown is: Leeds-Grenville East (three active), Leeds-Grenville Central (five active), Leeds-Grenville West (seven active), Lanark County West (10 active) and Lanark County East (three active). (New case numbers from the LGL health unit won’t be reported until Monday, Dec. 28)
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit region added 17 cases on Thursday to bring the regional total to 1,268 confirmed cases, of which 246 are active (eight more than Wednesday) and 989 are resolved (nine more than Wednesday). The number of deaths is 33. Five people are in hospital, including two in ICU. There are 12 active outbreaks (includes nursing and retirement homes, lodging homes, group homes, schools and daycare), three more than Wednesday. Testing was unchanged at 92,030.
- Quebec posted a new daily record of 2,349 cases. There were also 13 deaths. Ontario also had a record daily case count. Meantime, Saskatchewan had its lowest daily case count since mid-November at 154 new cases.
- A lot of truck drivers in England are going to be spending Christmas in their rigs as the gridlock is cleared at the port of Dover. The trucks, heading into France, have been stopped at the border following concerns over a new high-contagious strain of COVID-19. Border lanes have now partially opened.
- With a 10 p.m. curfew in Italy, the Christmas Eve church bells rang a little earlier than usual on Thursday. Pope Francis made it annual address to an almost-empty St. Peter’s Basilica at 7:30 p.m. local time.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Christmas message touched on COVID-19 and how it’s thrown a wrench into holiday celebration plans. The PM highlighted the sacrifices people have made to help friends, neighbours and loved ones.
Have a story or news release related to COVID-19? Send it along for possible inclusion in a future digest on Brockville Newswatch. Email editor@brockvillenewswatch.com. Please put “COVID-19 Digest” in the subject line.